Why would locals choose to shop local? John Feron asks himself this question as he sits down to talk about his journey in business.

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“Why would locals shop local as opposed to going to a larger chain store?” Central AppliancePlus owner John Feron asks.

“The answer to that question is the relationship after sales, because you’re dealing with someone who lives and works in your town.

“If you’ve got an issue you can come back to that person and know they’re going to be there.

“You go to a chain store, you don’t know what you’re going to get.

“That’s how I’ve built the business – we look after people.”

John explains businesses just don’t last in a town like Alexandra, unless they’re doing something right – and Central AppliancePlus has been thriving here for over twenty years.

“I was travelling for work as sales and marketing manager for LG.

“I’d come to Central and stay with my brother Jeff, and I got pretty envious of the lifestyle he had here.

“We’d go fishing before work, have a swim after work, barbeque, and the weather was consistently good.”

Once John and his family had made the decision to make the move to Central, it took time to become a reality.

“We decided if we were going to make the shift, we needed to do it before the kids hit high school so we could cement them in.”

So John began to hunt opportunities.

“The people who owned this business had been talking for years about selling, but they finally put pen to paper.

“We said we’ll throw our house on the market, if we can sell it within a month we’ll come, if we can’t, we won’t.”

The hard part John says was he enjoyed corporate life working for LG; he was travelling to Korea two or three times a year, it was an enjoyable time.

But at the same time, he and his wife wanted to do something for themselves.

“This was an opportunity to do something for us where I didn’t have to work seven days a week.

“There’s not too many places left in New Zealand that offer lifestyle and business like Central does.

As luck would have it, their house sold on the very last day of the month, and the family moved to Alexandra and to their own business.

They took over the business in August 1999 and in very early November the big floods came.

“We were down in Tarbert Street then; we were new to town and I remember getting a phone call at five o’clock in the morning saying I needed to get down and empty my shop.

“So off we went, and managed to get some stuff upstairs.

“It was amazing, people just walked in to give us a hand.

“I remember this guy came in, he was tattooed with long hair and we were struggling – we really needed help.

“Well, after that I learned never to second guess anyone, you just don’t know.

“He worked tirelessly all day. At the end of the day I offered to buy him a beer to say thanks, but no, he was off to help someone else.

“Somebody pulled up outside with a truck and said he could shift our gear for us.

“I didn’t know him, but we loaded all the stuff on the truck and away it went.

“We very, very quickly learned about how it all works in this town – it was a wonderful, wonderful introduction to what it’s like living in a small, local community where everybody helps each other.

“It was amazing.”

John says he took the opportunity to re-lay the shop, and in many ways it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened.

“All our stuff came back, and not one thing was marked or damaged.

“It was awesome.”

John says the most challenging times for him would have to be renovating each time they expanded the area in the Tarbert Street shop, and having to trade through the mess. 

“They were really hard times – fun times, but hard times.

Know your product, know your industry advises John.

“However, the hardest time was right when we moved into this (current) building.

“Remember the world recession? Well, it hit right then and that was hard, really hard.”

“We weren’t making ends meet by any stretch of the imagination.

“We had a population of 5,000 people that weren’t buying anything.

“We tightened our belts, reduced hours, held every dollar with care, spending only where we had to.

“We were going through a really tough time, but the community still needed support, they still came knocking on the door.

“We supported the schools and local charity organisations because they needed it, but heck, through those years that came out of our back pocket.

“And, hey, we rode it out and we’re still here.”

John says his best advice to anyone looking to start out in business is to know your industry.

“Know what you’re selling, understand your industry whatever it might be.

“Also hugely important – make sure you’ve got a good accountant.

“I had been in the industry for over twenty years, so I had knowledge, I had experience, I had relationships and a network of contacts.

“Those existing connections meant I got looked after, even though I had moved into a small business in a small town.

Success in business in a community like Alexandra has two sides, John says.

“We try to look after our local community, the charitable organisations, the sports, the schools.

“Then from a business perspective when people buy a product from us, they know we’re here to support them.

“Whether it’s just a question on how it works or there’s a problem, we don’t just duck for cover and send them down the road.

“They’ve got a personal contact, they’ve got somebody they can come and talk to, and you know we’ll be there.

“We’re not going to bounce you from department to department, we’re not here today gone tomorrow.

“We’re not commission-based, we’re not just interested in the next sale.

“It’s about spending time with people through that decision process; it’s about listening and understanding the best fit for each person, each lifestyle.

“It’s about still being there afterwards; that’s why people come back.

“That’s the difference.”

Images Mary Hinsen